RICHMOND — People who own electric vehicles often try to help other drivers understand the investment and benefits.
EV owner Jess Wooten is no exception. Wooten is in his second Tesla Model 3.
“I definitely wanted to be more sustainable with my purchases, and I felt that getting an electric vehicle was a great investment,” Wooten said.
He offered to drive a Capital News Service reporter around Richmond to detail his experience as a homeowner.
Wooten estimates he has driven approximately 10,500 miles. “I’ve spent $105 so far today,” he said of his “fuel” cost.
Electric vehicle owners and industry advocates talk about the savings. After all, the statewide average for a gallon of regular gas at the beginning of May was $3.39. The national average was $3.58 per gallon, according to AAA.
But the cost of entry into electric vehicle ownership can be high for the average consumer, even with federal and state tax credit incentives.
Regardless, EV registration is on the rise in Virginia. There were 55,823 electric vehicles registered in the state as of March 31, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
And there will be many more registered in the next 12 years, due to the state mandate that all new vehicles sold must be electric by 2035. The first checkpoint along the calendar to meet this mandate is 35 % of all new cars and trucks sold in Virginia with a 2026 model year must be electric.
Lawmakers and citizens are concerned about obstacles in the way of completing the change.
Virginia lawmakers passed the Clean Car Act in 2021, which was adopted from California’s standard. Virginia was the 15th state out of 17 to adopt California’s standards, according to the California Air Resources Board. The state applied for a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency to expand the standards under the federal Clean Air Act.
Transportation is the largest contributor to air pollution in the state, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Democratic state lawmakers passed the 2021 legislation along party lines when they held control of the General Assembly.
Republicans recently backed legislation to reverse the law, which will take effect next year.
Lawmakers questioned whether the state and consumers are ready to support an electric-only market in 2035. Other concerns include the upfront cost to buy an electric vehicle, the cost of ongoing maintenance, whether the Virginia’s electric grid can sustain electric vehicle charging stations and the overall impact on the automotive industry.
Electric vehicles tend to be more expensive than gas cars, according to Bill Magavern, policy director for the California Clean Air Coalition. The average price of electric vehicles is just over $61,000, according to December 2022 data from Kelly Blue Book.
Manufacturers have focused too much on producing luxury electric vehicles, Magavern said. But soon they will have to market to all consumers, especially with the obligation to sell zero-emission cars.
Some manufacturers have already announced that affordable electric vehicles will be coming to market, Magavern said.
“Ford, Volkswagen — companies that tend to cater to all classes of buyers — have announced plans to do that,” Magavern said. “Manufacturers are getting better at learning how to make affordable cars.”
The Tesla Model 3 compact sedan is currently Tesla’s most affordable offering. It’s often compared to the Toyota Corolla in size, but the starting price is higher, even with the current tax credit for electric vehicles, according to the manufacturer’s websites.
Tesla promised that a newer entry-level model is on the way and will also cut electric vehicle assembly costs in half, AP News reported.
According to Car and Driver, the five-passenger Chevy Bolt hatchback starts at $26,500 and is eligible for a tax credit.
Electric vehicles are cheaper than gas cars when consumers factor in maintenance costs and gas money to power them, according to Magavern.
Electric vehicle owners and advocates tout the entry price as comparable to other vehicles, but most of the lowest-priced electric vehicles are smaller in size, according to a survey of automaker websites.
According to Kate Staples, director of electrification at Dominion Energy, EV drivers typically spend the equivalent of $1 per gallon for a full charge.
According to Staples, an electric vehicle owner would use about 10 kilowatt-hours to charge an electric vehicle, or roughly 300 kilowatt-hours per month. According to Staples, drivers would see a 30% increase in their electric bill.
“Even though your electric bill may go up, you’ll definitely save money in your pocket by not having to go to the gas station,” Staples said.
Dominion Energy is the state’s largest public electric company. Virginia’s power grid currently runs on nuclear power, natural gas, renewable energy and some coal and oil, Staples said.
The future grid in 2035 will be able to keep up with the demand for more electric vehicles on the road and support the Clean Car Act, Staples said.
Dominion must regularly submit plans every few years for how it will meet Virginia’s energy needs over the next 15 to 30 years, Staples said.
“As our customers’ needs grow, we will plan the network to serve them,” Staples said.
Dominion Energy is moving toward cleaner cars and a cleaner power grid, regardless of whether the law is enforced or not, Staples said. Dominion aims, in part, to help achieve this goal through the offshore wind project.
According to the Department of Energy, an electric vehicle can drive 150 to 400 miles on average before it needs to be recharged, although many drivers plug in daily.
There are three different types of chargers:
‒ Level 1 Charging: Provides 5 miles of range for one hour of charging
‒ Level 2 charging: Provides 25 miles of range for one hour of charging
‒ Level 3, or DC Fast Charge: Charges in approximately 30 minutes for a 100-200+ mile trip
“I actually find it can be a really nice way to make a trip,” Magavern said, when drivers plan accordingly. “You load a lot while you’re eating, for example.”
Virginia continues to roll out more electric vehicle chargers across the state, according to Trip Pollard, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Fast chargers will eventually be within 30 miles of 90 percent of Virginians, Pollard said.
Virginia received incremental federal funding for charging infrastructure that will eventually exceed $100 million, according to Pollard. The state will receive more funding from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program.
“That’s probably the biggest thing going on right now in Virginia to get us ready,” Pollard said.
Private companies such as Tesla and Plug In America have already installed charging stations across the state, Pollard said. There are currently 1,142 public gas stations in Virginia, according to the Department of Energy’s fuel locator.
The General Assembly passed legislation in 2018 and 2019 to expand charging infrastructure. Failed efforts by lawmakers in the recent session would have empowered localities to require charging stations as part of larger new developments.
“The whole market is shifting to more electric vehicles,” Pollard said.
Many major automakers have pledged that 40% to 50% of sales will be electric by 2030. Honda hopes to expand to 100% electric vehicle sales by 2040.
General Motors plans to offer a full suite of electric vehicles, including affordable, luxury trucks and trucks, according to Matt Ybarra, GM’s senior director of public policy communications.
“GM has laid out its plan to be carbon neutral by 2040 in global products and operations, and plans to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles in leading markets by 2035,” Ybarra said in the email electronic
About 80% of the assembly process for electric vehicles is similar to the production of gas vehicles, due to the investment in production plants, Ybarra said.
According to Consumer Reports, seventeen automakers have pledged to go electric, some within five years.
Gas vehicles will continue to ply Virginia’s roads after 2035, but all new sales will cease. Some lawmakers are concerned that residents will look to surrounding states and take away Virginia’s revenue.
California has taken many steps to prepare for the Clean Car standard, Magavern said.
The state currently receives federal tax incentives for electric vehicle purchases. That helps lower the upfront costs associated with electric vehicles, Magavern said. California is incentivizing automakers to make electric cars that cost less than $20,275, but only for model years between 2026 and 2028, according to the Associated Press.
Lawmakers established the Virginia Electric Vehicle Rebate Program in 2021, but have not funded the program, according to the state budget. In theory, the program would offer $2,500 in rebates for new and used electric models from select state dealers.
California utilities also offer off-peak charging incentives. Less electricity is used to charge between midnight and 8 a.m., Magavern said.
“So that really helps spread the cost of the network over the 24-hour period,” Magavern said.
Virginia offers something similar through Dominion Energy’s Off-Peak Plan, but with a limited capacity of 10,000 customers.
Other states implementing such a rule should educate residents about electric vehicles and focus on charging infrastructure, Magavern said.
“A great way to do that is drive and drive, where people have the experience of driving the car and you know, they can easily be shown how to charge it,” Magavern said.
In a relatively quiet test drive through a noisy city, Wooten talked about why he bought an EV in the first place. He switched to a Tesla with incentives and tax credits, Wooten said.
Incentives are an important factor to consider when making the switch. According to Wooten, lawmakers should push consumers to switch to electric cars.
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Manufacturers should be pushed with deadlines to offer electric options. This requirement is essential, Wooten said.
“I think not everyone is going to make that push on their own, and sometimes some legislation or the right incentives like a tax incentive, I think is a great way to encourage people to buy electric vehicles,” Wooten said.
He encouraged drivers to take a test drive.
“Drive any electric vehicle you’re curious about and you’ll be amazed because these cars are incredibly fast, they’re fun to drive, you won’t believe how fast they can go,” Wooten said.
According to Wooten, Tesla steering wheels can even act as a game controller for video games like Mario Kart while parked.
He shared that it’s one of the many reasons he enjoys his electric vehicle.
Capital News Service is a program of the Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University. Students in the program provide coverage of state government to various media outlets in Virginia.
